As China and the western world are far apart, they have to rely on a telescope to observe each other and obtain mutual understanding. While Chinese people get an enlarged and clear image of the west through the telescope, some westerners see a small and ugly China through it. Why? Because they are reversing the telescope.  After all, the world is diversified and colorful, and different social systems mean different illustration to the rights to the freedom of religious belief, but one should never base himself on the differences to conclude that there would be no religious freedom in China. While small-minded people would always see contradictions in diversity and rivalry in difference, open-minded people can often discover beautiful rainbows in multiplicity and seek unity and harmony in discrepancy.

The Chinese government respects the rights to religious freedom sincerely, consistently, firmly and in a deep-going way, as it is decided by our essential conceptions and fundamental interests. Our respect to religious freedom proceeds from the demand of the current situation and also has origin in history. It is a rational choice and is under the protection of law. It is a specially significant contribution made by a ruling party that advocates dialectical materialism and historical materialism (including atheism) and by a government that upholds the separation between religion and state.

(The author is First Vice-president of Central Institute of Socialism, Vice- president of China Society for Human Rights Studies)